OnQ Blog

The new chassis is a computer: Qualcomm Technologies helps companies showcase connectivity platforms at TU-Automotive Detroit

Jun 8, 2016

Qualcomm products mentioned within this post are offered by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

On the tree of automotive evolution, the modern car is a closer cousin to the computer than classic clunker. That’s the influence of tech at work — and the consumer’s appetite for it. It’s caused OEMs to prioritize infotainment and connectivity instead of just horsepower and MPGs. That shift has resulted in the expectation that tech systems will assist in everything from optimization to diagnostics. Simply put, people don’t want their driving experience to be one divorced from their technological experience.

As the technological experience continues to evolve to include ADAS, V2X communications, 5G, and other immersive experiences, auto tech must evolve with it. And in the context of those technologies, auto tech systems will need to handle multiple connections to and from different data-collecting objects seamlessly, recording everything from on-the-road telemetry to potential preferences for untried pizzerias. It’s a huge opportunity for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers — provided they can successfully craft the computer architecture capable of handling the next wave of tech demands.

To help suppliers execute against that opportunity, Qualcomm Technologies announced the Qualcomm Connected Car Reference Platform, a connectivity platform which integrates the multiple wireless connections found in modern automobiles into a centralized architecture. Featuring a modular approach that allows for easy hardware and software upgrades, the reference platform is uniquely suited to tackle today’s tech needs while being positioned to respond to new auto technologies.

The platform is ideally suited to facilitate V2X connectivity: the ability for vehicles to interact with their environment — other cars, infrastructure, pedestrians, and the cloud — through wireless connectivity. V2X technology allows for an array of use cases, from saving lives by communicating with pedestrians’ smartphones to providing stronger connections between self-driving cars and the roadways they’re on.

At the 16th Annual TU-Automotive Detroit exhibition and conference, taking place on June 8 and 9, three separate software companies will showcase exactly how an integrated connectivity platform can be used to set the stage for ADAS, V2X, 5G and other technological applications. From enabling the actual V2X technology in vehicles to support scalable, secure updates across a landscape of different vendors and manufacturers, each demo showcases a different aspect of how and why an embedded, reliable, connected hardware client is necessary to deliver the success of future tech.

Hortonworks, a software company that provides data and analytics solutions for enterprises, is demonstrating the simulation of bi-directional data communication between an on-vehicle platform and the cloud. The demo will show Hortonworks Data Flow (HDF) technologies shows a use case of a connected Qualcomm Technologies’ platform which could deliver critical capabilities for vehicle communication. Data and analytics on HDF prioritizes key data (speed, geo-location, and airbag deployment) and determines how and when to share it through a cloud platform. Through Qualcomm Technologies modem solutions built into the design, on-device processing and transmission to the cloud can happen in real time through an LTE connection (or through Wi-Fi if a hotspot is available), ensuring the flow of data is prioritized and reliable. This is an important component for everything from diagnostics to insurance services to setting the framework for understanding driving better.

In addition to enabling the flow of data, OEMs are responsible for delivering advanced, connected technology securely; IoT applications have faced increased scrutiny about security, and automobiles are no exception. Moreover, OEMs rely on many different vendors and suppliers to outfit their vehicles with various components, so hardware and software components must be able to seamlessly work together.

Movimento, a company that provides scalable software management platforms to auto OEMs, is showcasing its Movimento Over-The-Air Platform at TU-Automotive Detroit, designed to address that challenge and more. Running on an embedded hardware platform with centralized connectivity components, the platform showcases the importance of a single management solution for OEMs who are looking to deliver scalable technology updates securely via the cloud. Without a powerful hardware client in the vehicle capable of ensuring those updates successfully reach the grounded components, those integral push updates from the cloud could easily be derailed, incapacitating the car, in some cases.

Finally, Savari, a software and hardware solutions company focusing on smart cities and automotive, is using a connected platform to simulate real-life automotive traffic scenarios and how in-car V2X applications are making it safer and more efficient to drive. Through the demo, the company will show how a centralized platform is uniquely qualified to serve as the hardware foundation upon which V2X data, like Intersection Movement Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Warning, and Lane Change Warning, can be quickly, accurately, and reliably delivered to the in-vehicular HMI.

Nothing in these materials is an offer to sell any of the components or devices referenced herein. References to "Qualcomm"; may mean Qualcomm Incorporated, or subsidiaries or business units within the Qualcomm corporate structure, as applicable. Materials that are as of a specific date, including but not limited to press releases, presentations, blog posts and webcasts, may have been superseded by subsequent events or disclosures. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses. Qualcomm products referenced on this page are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.